I don't want to pop anybody's bubble, but two of the deisel boat I served on had the 2" X 2" strip, teak decks. The wood was coverd with black, preservative paint. You couldn't see the wood at all. My other boat had steel decks. From farther than a couple of feet, you couldn't tell the difference in the material. And bare wood was never visiable. I would expect that the Germans did the same thing, to avoid rot and warping. So, unless you're taking atistic license, and showing a bare wood deck, I wouldn't worry about it. As for deck tread (anti-skid) colors, the US Navy uses deck grey and black, are the4 only colors that I know of. As for civilian ships, they seem to have it available in almost any color you might want. On my first destroyer, it took two guys to put down deck tread. One would put down a heavy coat of paint. Then the second would sprinkle sand on it, and the first guy would put a light final coat over that. The last time I saw deck tread, being applied (on a surface ship), it came in sticky back, oval patches. You just peeled off the back and stuck it to the deck, whereever you wanted it. It was a lot faster and easier than the old way, but I don't know how it'd hold up on a North Atlantic run. The anti-skid on subs came premixed, in 5 gallon cans. For 1:72 and smaller, flat paints should do it. For 1:48 and larger, I'm not sure, 'still playing around with it.Mike

first thing: thanks to Safrole....you did give me a good option!!! Second thing: to Mike: got you point and must say this sounds pretty familiar. As former SAM/AAA man I recollect we did a lot of anti-skid pads on equipment in the same manner....As far as info is available to me, this is not the way the deck of the U's was treated though. http://www.u-boote-online.de/dieboote/farben_maerz_1940.html tells us:

"By the way....what was the result on your ship when the second guy reported sick....a slip of the deck (joke)???"

Obviously you're not familiar with US Navy Boswains Mates. There was a Draft, when I was in, and a Chief Boswains Mate would have no hesitation in "Drafting" a replacement. It wasn't exactly a job requiring extensive training or advanced schooling. Selection and training would normally follow the this this scenario. "Smitty, you keep on the deck tread. Jones is in sick bay, so...Uh,.. You, new guy, you go with Smith. He'll show you what to do." Boswains were great problem solvers. I suspect that Alexander the Great, of Gordian Knot fame, was a Boswains Mate.

You're right about the paint washing off during long patrols. It would expose bare wood, in spots. Much like rust would develope, fading in and out. Also, the wood was held in place by steel bolts. If the plug in the bolt hole washed out, the paint, aft of the hole, would tend to peel away. Then rust would streak aft from that point, leaving a rust trail, over the bare wood and remaining preservative paint. You'd have to build a fairly large size model for this to be visible. The holes were about 3/4" to 1" in diameter. The rust streak would seldom be any wider than the hole and usually narrower.Mike